


Clash and Clamor

by midnightofthesoul



Category: Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-03
Updated: 2013-02-03
Packaged: 2017-11-28 02:14:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/669084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightofthesoul/pseuds/midnightofthesoul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Lizzie, we’re staging an intervention," Charlotte said from the foot of Lizzie's bed, hands on her hips. "Suit up, Bennet. We're going out." Post ep.84, in which Charlotte and Lydia get Lizzie out of the house. Beer pong is played, hang-overs will be had, and Darcy. There will be Darcy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Clash and Clamor

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Greetings. Please note the tense changes. They occur on purpose. Also, cliché fic is cliché. We don’t have corroboration on beer pong skills, but lend me this artistic license. No beta, don’t hate. Thanks for reading!

 

 

.::.::.::.

"Hey everyone!" Lydia beams. "Charlotte —" she pauses and moves off camera, grabbing a disembodied hand.

_auto-cut_

Now both Lydia and Charlotte are sitting before the camera.

"Charlotte and I are testing out the _Domino_ app, _right_?"

Charlotte looks at the camera imbedded in her macbook, hesitant. "Lizzie, you know I love you. But Lydia and are doing this for your own good."

"Totes," Lydia nods seriously at the screen and Charlotte. "See, here's the deal: Last night, Charlotte finally got Lizzie out of the house. You guys don't see it, but she has not…"

_auto-cut_

"She's been spending a lot of time listening to Bon Iver," Charlotte lists, "staring at the last question of her thesis paper, and wearing scarves."

"Bizarre to the max," Lydia's eyebrows draw together in dismay and mild judgment. "Last night it was Explosions in the Sky and her lights were off. 

Charlotte shakes her head in consternation. "Dark times indeed."

  _cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut_

Lizzie exhaled loudly, arm draped over her face as _Your Hand in Mine_ played on her record player. Dr. Gardiner wanted her Pemberley Digital analysis as soon as possible, but the cursor blinked at her tauntingly, the blank screen glaring in emptyness.

She was stuck. Simple as that. She couldn't finish. She couldn't muster the courage to go back to San Francisco and get the very last interview she needed. She couldn't even articulate the words to put on paper. She was having a crisis. An educational, theoretical, metaphysical, existential, and every other type she could imagine, crisis.

Lizzie Bennet was living at home with her parents, a home that was about to be sold (possibly foreclosed), and soon-to-be homeless (her parents were looking into retirement communities in Arizona), her younger sister had an almost!sextape scandal, her bank account was empty, and her job prospects were dwindling.

And then there was Darcy….

She cleared her throat. No. There wasn't Darcy. There was _nothing_. At all.

Not only that, but Charlotte was back in town, had been for a week, and Lizzie couldn't bring herself to do more than meet her for coffee. It wasn't that she didn't care. She just…. she felt so… _melancholy_? Yes, she nodded to herself, very apropos.

A knock preceded Charlotte and Lydia as they burst in, ten times more energy than she could bear.

"Lizzie, we’re staging an intervention," Charlotte said from the foot of Lizzie's bed, hands on her hips. "Suit up, Bennet. We're going out."

"To the mecca of fine establishments in our glamorous downtown?" Lizzie murmured as she turned over and buried her head into her mattress, ignoring the way Lydia hopped on the bed, tapping Lizzie incessantly on the back.

"Lizzie. You need to get out of here. Go out for a change. Drink, laugh, make a bad decision," Lydia said as she lay across Lizzie's back, smushing her face close to Lizzie's.

 _But you've done that for the both of us. And now my non-existent career and I have to pay the consequences. Stop it_ , her conscience ordered, _you're being unfair and disingenuous._

Lizzie growled and sighed, giving up when both Charlotte and Lydia pulled her off the bed.

"Fine. Fine. Fiiiiiiiiiine. I'll come. Just please, dear God, get out. I'll be ready in ten minutes." Lizzie ignored the look of doubt shared between Charlotte and Lydia and pushed them out. Shutting the door, she sighed as she leaned against it, wishing that she could get in her car, drive away, and never come back.

Ten minutes later she emerged, only to be shut down.

"No, absolutely not." Charlotte grabbed Lizzie by the shoulders, turned her around and pushed her back inside her room, tugged off her sweatshirt and then turned to Lizzie's closet. Grabbing items, she tossed them on the bed haphazardly.

"Lydia?" Charlotte called. "Grab your make-up and fix your sister's face. It's stuck on despair."

"Coming!"

"Do not make me look like a slut."

"Impossible."

Fifteen minutes later, they piled into Charlotte's car, ready for a night out in suburbia. Lizzie was feeling a little better, but she couldn't tell if that was due to the shot of tequila Lydia made her take or if was genuine.

  _cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut_

"B-t-dubs, thanks for helping get her into that cute outfit, Charlotte." Lydia braces her arm on Charlotte's shoulder. "So, we got her to Carter's, where one of your high school friends was…?" Lydia fades, looking to Charlotte for clarification.

"Birthday party. We all went for a birthday party." Charlotte tucks some hair behind her ear and forges ahead. "Everything was going great. Lizzie was finally relaxing, she’d had a couple beers, loosened up, then she was goaded into a game of beer pong —"

  _cut            cut             cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut_

"Guys, I told you I don't play this anymore," Lizzie stated sternly, arms crossed. "I'm not a freshman in college. Why are you forcing this?"

"Because you take yourself so damn serious all the time." Lydia, growing frustrated, looked to Charlotte for help.

"Listen, partner with me for one game. That's all I need," Charlotte grabbed two beers from their friend Matt. "Just one game. You hate it, you can go hang out in the corner and we'll leave in an hour."

Lizzie looked Charlotte in the eyes, ignored the way Lydia shook her head, and pinky-swore on it. "Deal. But, don't think I'll forget this."

The two best friends stood side-by-side, threw out some trash talk to their unworthy opponents, and proceeded to slaughter them. Twice.

  _cut             cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut_

"You need to understand something everyone," Lydia leans forward, wagging her finger. "Elizabeth Bennet has freakishly good hand-eye coordination, which is not something you'd think, knowing her."

"Right, Lizzie's kind of a legend around here for her beer pong skills. However," Charlotte gives Lydia a mock-stern look, "it's not necessarily something she's proud of. Considering she's…"

"A square. Admit it. Lizzie is a square."

"I was leaning more towards _young professional._ "

"Which equals _snooooozeville._ "Lydia sighs for dramatic effect, yawning. "Except… when she's playing —"

"Beer pong… oh, and flip cup."

"Mainly beer pong."

"Yeah."

  _cut             cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut_

 _"_ What now, son? I believe you owe me twenty bucks." Lizzie fist-bumped Charlotte and crowed in victory. "Jonathan Summers, you should have given up when you had the chance, back in the eleventh grade."

"Not fair, Lizzie. You were totally giving me a cleavage shot."

"No one said we had to play fair," Lizzie said as she clinked cups with Charlotte. "Bottoms up boys!"

  _cut             cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut_

 _"_ Now, as you all know, Bing is in town and quickly made up with Jane —"

"Which means he and Jane are glued to the hips or lips."

"Gross, Lydia."

"What?"

_auto-cut_

"Last night, Bing showed up to the bar with a group of people in tow, including Jane and —"

"Darcy! William Darcy was with them," Lydia squeaks. Off Charlotte's quirked eyebrows, she replies, "What? Just because he and George… whatev. Darcy's here, okay? Carry on…"

"So Lizzie is like, in her third game —"

"Absolute domination—" Lydia looks upward, smiling. "So proud."

"And her back is to Bing and Jane's group —"

"Dun dun dunnnnn!"

  _cut             cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut_

Bing holds the door open as several people filter in, Jane and Darcy included. Charlotte, making eye contact with apologetic Jane, pushes off from the wall and navigates through the crowd.

"What are you doing here?!"

"The Lucky Rooster had some live band and it was crazy," Jane frowned as she looked to the other side of the bar. "Is that… Lizzie?"

Charlotte nodded, exhaling hesitantly. "We were just trying to cheer her up. She's been so…"

 _"_ I know what you mean. And now, she looks…" Jane watches as Lizzie high-fives and chest bumps her taller, manlier, very attractive partner, "she looks like she's happier."

"I'm pretty sure she's going to have a raging hangover tomorrow."

"Oh, please watch out for her. Darcy is here. I don't want there to be—"

"— don't worry, I'm cutting her off soon. I'll give her a heads up once this game is done."

"Thanks," Jane smiles sincerely at Charlotte, "you're such a good friend Charlotte."

Charlotte turns away and walks back to her group, working up the strength to deal with the fallout.

_cut             cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut_

"So, Darcy is ignoring everyone —" Charlotte levels her hands.

"EVERYONE."

" —watching Lizzie like a hawk, matching her cup for his shot."

"He took it like a champ," Lydia nods.

"Eventually, I took mercy on him and told LIzzie that he was there."

"I've never seen someone sober-up so quickly." Lydia smirks at the camera.

"It was like she hadn't been drinking at all."

" _Amazing_."

"Lizzie pulled me off to the side and asked me if he'd spotted her, which of course, I played it cool and told her that he just walked in, which as we all know was a slight understatement."

_cut             cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut_

Lizzie stared at Charlotte, suddenly feeling her heartbeat rush into her ears, getting that weird tunnel effect when she'd run too hard. It suddenly got really hard to breathe.

"What do you mean, Darcy is here? Bing said Darcy wasn't coming for a month."

"Apparently his plans changed," Charlotte shrugged. "Look, it's not a big deal. This is a big bar. You can go say hi superfast then come back over. I mean, you _are_ here for a birthday party, after all."

"Yeah it's just…" Lizzie ran her hand through her hair. "I need to go to the bathroom."

"Are you okay? Need some water?"

"Yeah, no. I'm fine, I just…" she called out to her partner and birthday boy, Frankie. "Time out, pee-break. Be right back."

"Don't break the seal!" he called out. Lizzie rolled her eyes at Charlotte and did an about-face, narrowly avoiding glancing at Darcy's table. She was going to _kill_ Jane for bringing them here. She'd hug her first, but then she'd kill her.

In the quiet of the ladies' room, Lizzie braced her hands against the counter, breathing deeply, pushing aside the dizziness. She did not want to go back out there. Just seeing him was bad enough.

The amount of guilt, shame, mortification — any number of those things, made her so desperately want to fade into the wall. The worst part was that sharp pang in her chest, the part that was her heart telling her mind that it was all a lost cause.

Because in the end, she was a broke, middle-class, suburban girl who couldn't finish her degree and was probably going to be working in this very bar in a few months.

And Darcy?

He had box seats and favorite restaurants that didn't list prices. He knew the mayor and had traveled the world. He could speak several languages and…

She sighed. This was getting her nowhere. All she needed to do was finish her game, grab Charlotte and her sister, then leave. The less she had to interact with him, the better. Lizzie looked up in the mirror, straightened her top, freshened her make-up, and squared her shoulders.

She could do this. Of course, she could do this.

 _cut             cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut_  

"Lizzie, came out of the bathroom, and finished the rest of her game, sinking every. single. shot. Like a boss. What whaaaaaat!" Lydia held out her palm expectantly.

Charlotte side-eyes Lydia then looks to the camera, raising her eyebrows and nodding in agreement, high-fiving Lydia's raised hand.

"Then, she goes outside, for air… or… something? I don't know."

_auto-cut_

"It was super strange. Like, she'd already made two hundred bucks, there was some random guy singing to her… badly," Lydia's brow furrowed, "who _was_ that guy? It was awful."

"I don't know. I think I saw him making out with that girl from —" Charlotte pauses, glancing up at the camera. "Anyway, Lizzie disappears. Big mystery."

"But that's not what matters…." Lydia looks at Charlotte and they both turn to the camera and exclaim, "SO DID DARCY!"

_cut             cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut_

Lizzie managed to edge out through a different entrance onto the deck, which was popular during the summer. She exhaled loudly, thankful for the solitude and quiet. She just needed a moment to collect herself; get some perspective before venturing over to say goodnight to the table.

She walked over to a set of stairs and took a seat, leaning her head against a rung. No more than a minute or two later, she heard footsteps and prayed it wasn't an amorous couple coming outside for a quickie. It was known to happen.

No, _she should be so lucky_. Instead, it was Darcy. All by himself. Swaying a little bit.

"Lizzie Bennet," he stated quietly as he leaned against the rail next to her. "I've been looking for you."

By the mere fact that he was using conjunctions, she knew he'd had too much to drink. "Have you been drinking, Mr. Darcy?"

"Come now, please, call me William."

"You didn't answer my question, _William_." God. She loved the way his name sounded. He grinned at her after she said it. He liked hearing her say it too.

"Why yes, yes I have. I figured I would match you."

Lizzie's jaw dropped. "Match me? Darcy, I wasn't actually drinking all that."

"You what?" He straightened a bit, and then slouched again. He wore a black button-up, sleeves rolled to the elbows. She couldn't stop staring at his fingers as they drummed absently against the wooden railing.

"The reason I kill at beer pong is because I developed a way to remain relatively sober for a majority of the game." Darcy stared at her for a moment, not responding. She raised her eyebrows at him, tilting her head to the side. "Do you need to sit down?"

Darcy nodded. "I think that would be an excellent idea." Instead of moving to a chair like she expected him to, he rounded the corner and took a seat next to her on the steps. It was the closest the entirety of her body had ever been to his and her traitorous body was certainly letting her know it.

"For clarification, you aren't heavily intoxicated right now?"

Lizzie smiled at his word selection. "No, very slightly buzzed. I’m going to apologize for your inevitable hangover tomorrow."

"Not a problem. I know how to take care of myself. Besides, Gigi will be here in the morning. She can... do whatever she does to make me better."

"Does she do that often?"

He cleared his throat and bumped his shoulder next to hers, shaking his head. "No, we Darcys are very efficient and mild in temprement. Gigi is the most demonstrative of any of us."

Lizzie nodded, unsure what to say. She felt a lightness settle over her as she looked over at him again, catching him watching her unabashedly.

"So, William, what are you doing out here? I mean, if you were coming over to take advantage of me…"

That shut them both up quickly, causing her to stiffen beside him. In light of recent circumstance, she basically chose the number one thing on the conversation blacklist. He looked away from her, watching cars go by down the street. She tried to ignore the way he worked his jaw, he tried to ignore the way she smelled. _Like warmth and sweetness and the color of red. She smelled like…_

"I know what you did," Lizzie blurted, biting her lip and rolling her eyes at her impropriety. "… For Lydia. I know what you did and I —"

"Lizzie… you don't need to thank —"

"thank you. For all of it. Everything."

"me. I didn't do it so you would feel indebted to me."

"But I do. I always will, because…" she turned to him, staring at her hands in her lap, "I've been so incredibly awful to you in the past. You easily could have denied my request to shadow your company. You were kind to me, despite everything. You were even a good sport about all of Gigi's shenanigans. And then…" she stopped, looking up at him and swallowing the burning lump in her throat, "you helped my little sister. I know you were doing it partly because of Gigi but —"

"Lizzie —" Darcy reached over and grabbed Lizzie's hands, which at that point were twisted together. He uncurled her fingers and twined them with his own, placing them over their touching knees. "I didn't do it for them."

His words hung in the air between them, like a misty breath evaporating in the darkness. Lizzie’s mind took off in a hundred different directions, none of which made any sense. They stared at each other until she blinked, looking away.

Shaking her head, she sighed, "I don't — I don't understand you William Darcy."

He smiled at that, unable to break his gaze on her. He reached up and cupped her jaw with his hand, turning her to look him in the eyes. "In my current state of inebriation, I would like to save my explanation for tomorrow, perhaps when I am seeing less of you."

Lizzie grinned, trying to ignore the flush growing underneath the warmth of his hand. "Oh? And how many of me do you see?"

He smiled at her but didn't reply; instead he ran his thumb along her bottom lip and her eyes fluttered on their own accord. Her heart sped up as she felt her body leaning towards his, as if pulled by a magnet. She felt his other hand slide to her knee and she _knew_ that if this happened, she would pass the point of no return. And right then, he heart was a little too wary to go full steam ahead.

"Will —" she gasped, feeling his breath on her lips. He smelled of whiskey. Probably top shelf. "You're drunk."

"Mmmm?" he pulled away, eyes unfocused.

"I don't want to do something you're going to regret."

"I could never regret —"

Before he could finish, a loud boom and string of cheers and yelling erupted from within. Time for the birthday beefcake. Also a tradition in her town.

"We should get back inside," Lizzie said as he pulled his hands away slowly, a hint of a disappointed frown on his face.

As more cheers carried out into the quiet, she turned to him one last time, reaching a hand out as he stood. Grasping it, he stood before her, two steps lower and eye-to-eye.

"I need you to understand something about me Darcy —"

"William."

" _William,_ " she amended. " All those people in there? Loud and crass and somewhat uncultured? Those are my people. Friends that I've grown up with. I'm not well-traveled. I've been to the theater once and it was a school trip. Last time I went on a family vacation, Clinton was still president. And —"

"Lizzie, what are you saying?"

"I'm not like you, William. I'm like…" she searched for the words. “When I'm around you and your friends, I feel like I'm Ariel from The Little Mermaid and I'm brushing my hair with a fork."

"A fork?" Drunk Darcy did not compute, grabbing onto the railing as he swayed a bit.

Lizzie sighed. "Bad analogy. Just… when you leave tomorrow, just know that… please remember that I'm very grateful for everything."

He looked at her somewhat bewildered.

"Do you assume that just because I went to an Ivy that I can't play beer pong?"

Lizzie paused, shaking her head. "After all I just said — _that's_ what you got out of it?"

Darcy stepped up the remaining two steps and straightened. "My best friend in school was actually from Detroit, Michigan. He was on scholarship, and his family suffered badly during the recession. When we first met, he bullied me so much about being a pretentious snob, that I finally broke down one day and let him teach me."

Lizzie stared up at Darcy blankly, surprised by this untold piece of backstory. " _I_ was first-year champion."

"Funny, so was I." Lizzie took an unbidden step closer.

"I'm sorry,” Darcy did the same, his fingers itching to reach out and grab her. “That sounds like a challenge."

"I believe it was.” She ignored the infinite _mass_ of him standing before her, the way he reached out and grabbed her wrist, running his finger along the inside of her forearm and making it tingle.

Darcy pulled back his wayward hand, _it was like his fingers wanted to trace her body and commit her to memory._ But he didn’t want a memory. He wanted constancy. He wanted _her_.

"Then by all means, please, lead the way," Darcy held open the door, gesturing for her to step inside.

"Fine, but we'll have to clear the table first."

"Consider it done," he stated as he walked up behind her, not quite touching. She could still feel him though; could always feel him.

"Everyone, this is William," she declared for group, all a little bleary-eyed and guaranteeing a most certain defeat. Looking up at him, she smiled, "my _friend."_

Darcy grinned back. She'd never said that before. It sounded like a promise... And the potential for something more.

  _cut             cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut_

"Keep in mind, it was like… twenty minutes later when they came back?" Lydia guesses. "But here's the best part: William Darcy, CEO of Pemberley Digital, played with my sister in the most amazing game of beer pong."

"True story," Charlotte nods for emphasis. "It was glorious."

"They went through like, three different teams before taking a break. It was… a sight to behold."

"Then… they played each other."

"To the death." Lydia intones fiercely. "It was super hot. Like… here's sexual tension," Lydia holds her hand low off camera, and then lifts it above her head. "Then there's whatever those two crazy kids are harvesting. It could fuel a small country."

"Easily."

_auto-cut_

The two grin at each other and look back at the camera. _"_ I think she won off her infamous cleavage shot," Charlotte states matter-of-factly.

"Oh, no doubt. She did that thing where she tosses her hair and acts like she dropped something."

"Thing is, it works," Charlotte sighs, shaking her head.

"Like a charm."

"Every time."

_cut             cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut_

Lizzie frowned. She hadn't lost a game of beer pong in ages and if Darcy made that shot… There was no way she was going to let a _drunk_ William Darcy beat her in Carter’s. None. Based on the way he'd been watching her the past few rounds, she knew for a fact that she only had one option left: the cleavage shot. Yeah, she played dirty, but that's how they rolled in nondescript central California.

So, as with many before, she tossed her hair over her shoulder, bent forward slowly just as he was about to shoot, ensuring maximal cleavage viewing, and rubbed the tip of her shoe. _Pesky scuff marks_. She rose just as the final ping-pong ball bounced past her, the picture of glory on her face.

"I believe I just won."

Darcy swallowed hard and shook his head, blinking. "What? No. That was… that wasn't fair."

" _What_ wasn't fair?" she asked innocently, a small smile creeping on her face.

He bit the corner of his lip and shook his head at her knowingly. "Well played Ms. Bennet. Well played."

"Why thank you." She smiled as she drank deeply from her glass of water while he approached. "I'm sorry you don't have as much skill as I do."

Still flushed from the alcohol and feeling brazen, he bent down close to her ear with the closest she'd ever seen to a smirk on his face, and whispered: "I have skills, Lizzie Bennet. I simply choose to focus them in different… areas."

He straightened just as Bing came by, leaving Lizzie in an odd state, both breathless and flushed and wishing Darcy wasn't so damn tall.

_cut             cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut_

"What happened next, you ask?" Lydia leans towards the camera, shrugging.

"Making out? A casual ride home?"

"With more making out or man-bananas?"

_auto-cut_

_"_ Nothing happened. That's what." Both Lydia and Charlotte wear matching expressions of irritation.

"All that golden opportunity and Darcy makes a polite exit with Bing and Lizzie totes tries to act like she's not disappointed. Which…"

"Which is ridiculous."

"Agreed."

"However, she did get an invitation —"

Lydia is bursting. "She's at brunch."

" — right now."

"With Bing, Jane, Darcy, Fitz, Gigi, and…"

Charlotte frowns at the screen. "Caroline."

auto- _cut_

 _"_ She should be back soon, which means we should —"

They pause just as the door opens, revealing Lizzie's sundress-clad torso. She pauses and sighs loudly.

"I just had a ten minute inquisition from mom about every. single. detail. of Bing and Jane's interactions at brunch. Please, please tell me you aren't recording right now."

"Maybe?" Lydia says as she twists around on her stool. "How'd it go?"

Instead of replying, Lizzie tosses her purse on the ground and turns to the wall by her door, banging her forehead against the wall.

"That great?" Charlotte asks, glancing fearfully at the camera then to Lydia and back at Lizzie. "What happened?"

Lizzie doesn’t reply for a few moments, causing them to worry a little bit.

"Me. I happened. I opened my mouth and —" she stops banging her head long enough to draw out an imaginary string of, "word vomit. Just…"

 _"_ It couldn't have been that bad," Lydia stands, trying to console Lizzie.

"Trust me, it was… it was bad," Lizzie sighs, and glances again at the camera. "You can turn that off, you know. I'm going to delete whatever you two were doing anyway."

Neither Lydia nor Charlotte tell Lizzie that they're on the _Domino_ application.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Charlotte asks, resuming the topic at hand.

"I will be," Lizzie states with determination. "Once he goes back to San Francisco, I can forget about him, and his amazing company, and his lovely sister. I just. I can't be around him any—"

"Elizabeth!?" Mrs. Bennet calls from down the hall. "That Darcy man is outside. He's been pacing in front of the door for two minutes. Kitty is about to rip the screen off the window if you don't go —"

Lizzie turns to look at both Charlotte and Lydia. "What the hell is he doing here? I didn’t…I can't…"

Even as she's saying it, she's opening the door and walking away.

Lydia looks at Charlotte then they both race off camera, plastering their faces to the window.

_cut             cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut_

Lizzie opens the front door and shuts it behind her quickly, wishing all the courage she had last night would return.

William stops pacing and gazes up at her, looking a little disheveled — like a truck of feelings has hit him since brunch. He looks determined, but exhausted, as though he's been at war with himself for months.

"Are you okay?" Lizzie steps forward, crossing her arms.

"What?" William steps closer, unable to take his eyes off her. "Yes, I'm fine. I…" he pushes out his chin and take a deep breath. "I believe I owe you an explanation."

"Will —" she waves her hand to stop him. "You don't owe me anything. I'm the one that's forever indebted to you."

"See, you're wrong, because… " William looks down for a moment, curling his fingers into fists. "I did it _for_ you. Have I not been clear? Isn’t it obvious?"

Just like the night prior, the words hang between them, waiting to be grasped by the tethers of memory.

"You mean…" she takes a step and stops, not wanting to get ahead of herself. She sees that look in his eye, she _knows_ that look, has had many dreams about that very look. "I…" she bites her lip, ignores the tears building up in her eyes, and shakes away the hesitance just as words leave William's mouth.

"I'm _in love_ with you."  “I'm _still_ in love with you."

They stare at each other as their words clash and clamor, registering for an interminable moment, then an inexplicable joy overcomes Lizzie as she takes two more steps then jumps into William's open arms, crushing her lips against his. She wraps her arms around his neck, ignoring the part of her brain that is clamoring at the cliché of the situation. He smiles against her lips; she tastes the mint tea on his tongue, relishing the way he holds her tight against him.

She can actually feel the happiness in his body as he spins them around; kissing every laugh that leaves her mouth. Her hands run through his hair and gather at the nape of his neck, eliciting a soft moan as he grabs for more purchase. When he sets her down, he steals more kisses, in no way interested in stopping. Ever.

It's desperate and messy and completely infused with love. The forever kind.

_cut             cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut            cut_

Lydia and Charlotte stare at the camera, eyes wide and unblinking — shell-shocked. Lydia is the first to crack, only by a second, turning immediately to the older woman with a large grin on her face.

"Who knew my sister had moves like that?"

"I know," Charlotte nods emphatically, "right?"

"The way she leapt from the second step?"

"And the way he caught her?"

"Oh and the hand placement!" Lydia winks at the viewers. "He fer sure got a butt grab in there."

"The twirl! Don't forget the twirl! " Charlotte fans herself and Lydia is bouncing on her stool.

"That was…" She gestures with her hands, "mind blowing."

"Out of a movie."

"Totes. But like… one of the good ones. The kind where you know they'll be together forever and always."

Charlotte nods at Lydia. "Without a doubt."

_auto-cut_

Looking at each other, they smile and turn back to the camera and wave. "Our job here is finished," Charlotte states. "Stay tuned for the next video, where we'll sit on Lizzie…"

"Until she tells us EVERYTHING!!!"

"Until next time, I'm Charlotte Lu."

"You guys obvs know who I am." Charlotte nudges Lydia. "Fine. I am the Ly-dee-uhhh. We out!"

_auto-cut_

_\- end credits -_  

Watching the familiar follow-up screen on _her_ vlog, Lizzie sits with her hands cupping her mouth, aghast.

"Lizzie, it wasn't… that bad," William rubs his hand down her back, sweeping her hair out of the way and placing a kiss on her neck.

She looks over at him, eyebrows raised in mortification. "One day. I'm gone for one day and they post something like _that!?"_

"It _was_ a pretty accurate depiction," William acknowledges as he looks from her to the screen. "You did just hop in my car and leave without telling anyone where you went. They're doing this to get a rise out of you."

"It's working."

"Here," William says as he leans forward and closes the laptop and sets it on the night table. "Let me take your mind off it for a while."

She glances over at him, an impish smile gracing her features. "Really? You seem pretty sure of yourself."

Placing a kiss on the tip of her nose, William Darcy proceeds to remove _his_ button-up shirt from _her_ body and press her against his bed. As she looks up at him with her hair fan out all around and a blush creeping up her neck, he is taken in once more by this woman. This bewitching, exhausting, loving woman. Running his hand along her side, he leans down and kisses that smile off her face.

True to his word, he takes her mind of the video.

_Repeatedly._

_.::.::.::._

  _f_ _inis_

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Ending is cheesy and I don’t care. I wasn’t all that pleases with the kiss-scene, but I want this sucker gone, so there you have it. Hope you enjoyed.


End file.
